


Under the Sea

by cowlover2



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Little Mermaid AU, M/M, Rated T cuz Yurio curses sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-23 00:25:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9631493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowlover2/pseuds/cowlover2
Summary: AU based on the Disney Movie The Little MermaidWhen Victor falls in love with a human prince named Yuri after saving him from a shipwreck, he trades his voice to a sea witch for legs. Can Victor win over Yuri in just three days?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first fanfic on the site, and I hope you like it. I had a lot of fun writing this.  
> Character references: [character sheet 1](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com/post/156995510669/so-this-has-been-a-labor-of-love-for-a-little) [character sheet 2](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com/post/156995782799/more-little-mermaid-au-i-like-drawing-victor-in)

Humans had long had stories of the mythical merpeople that lived under the oceans. With their human torsos and shining scale-covered tails, it was lore that if you were lucky enough to spot one of these beautiful creatures, good luck would bestow itself upon your sea voyage. However, a merperson had not been spotted in years, and many believed that they had been a myth from the start.  
However, deep beneath the turbid waves of the surface, down at the bottom of the ocean floor, gleamed the shining golden palace of the merpeople. The castle seemed to be made of daylight as beams of light cascaded along the turrets of the magnificent palace. Merpeople of all ages lived in the underwater kingdom, and the kingdom was ruled by King Yakov. He ruled over the seven seas with a firm but kind wisdom and the kingdom lived in relative peace.

King Yakov had several children, but the oldest was a boy named Victor. Victor was often heralded as the most beautiful merperson to ever live. He had long silver hair that always seemed to have flowers weaved throughout the strands. He had piercing crystal blue eyes that melted hearts when they were happy and froze oceans when they were mad. Victor’s tail was golden, just like the castle he spent his days in.

Prince Victor was a kind soul, but he was curious and scatterbrained. While King Yakov was constantly trying to get him to keep his head on straight and learn how to rule a kingdom, Victor would much rather swim around his marine home, looking for trinkets that humans had dropped in the ocean. Victor had always had a fascination with humans and their culture. It seemed much more interesting than his marine life. Humans could use their legs to walk and run, and dance. Victor had always loved watching humans dance. Some were graceful while they twirled around, others were clumsy but it still looked fun. Victor had never told his father, but he wished more than anything that he could go on the land and dance with the humans. He would give everything for just a minute with legs.

Victor flapped his tail as he swam through the water, his trusty seal companion Maccachin swimming next to him. A few days ago, he had discovered a sunken ship sitting at the bottom of the sea, but his father had kept him so busy with an upcoming banquet that he had been unable to sneak away. He finally made it to the wreckage, stopping to marvel at the sight. The ship was huge, one of the biggest Victor had ever seen. He was excited to see what treasures he would find on the ship.

“C’mon Maccachin,” Victor said to his companion, who gave a small snuff and swam after Victor so they could explore the wreckage. Slipping through a porthole in the side, Victor gasped as he took in what was all around him. This ship must have been of some importance. Even though algae and grime had begun to stain the ship, it was covered in niceties that Victor had never seen before. Silver bits and bobs were scattered everywhere. Victor picked a silver object off of a table and turned it in his hands. It had a long slender end that fanned out wider and had four prongs sticking out of the wide end. It almost looked like his father’s magical trident, but smaller. He showed it to his seal companion.

“What do you think this is Maccachin?” Victor asked. Maccachin sniffed the metal object and gave a small snort. Victor laughed and ruffled the seal’s head before shoving the object into a small canvas bag hanging over his shoulder. He kept looking around, picking up various objects and musing at their use. Suddenly, Maccachin began to growl softly. Victor whipped his head toward the seal. 

“What is it Maccachin?” Victor asked. Maccachin growled and backed away from a window that covered one end of the room. Victor glanced outside, initially seeing nothing that his friend should be afraid of, but then a blur of movement swam by the window.

“Uh oh,” Victor breathed. He looked towards Maccachin. “C’mon boy, let’s get out of here.” Victor swam back over to the porthole they had initially come in through, only to see movement again.  
“That’s not good,” Victor muttered. He glanced back over to window, and finally managed to see the creature that was putting his friend on edge. A large great white shark was circling around the boat. It had probably seen them enter the ship. 

“Okay, very not good,” Victor said. He could try to find another way out of the ship, but the shark would be able to find them at any point they exited. So, Victor waited until he knew the shark was further away from the ship, and he quickly slipped through the porthole.

“C’mon Maccachin,” Victor whispered to the seal. He quickly slipped out after the merman and the two quickly swam away, luckily not being spotted by the shark.

“Well that was an adventure,” Victor laughed when they had gotten far away from the ship. He scratched Maccachin on his belly. “Now, let’s go see Chris! He’ll know what all these things are.” Maccachin barked and the two swam off to go visit their resident human expert, Chris.  
~~~  
Chris was a shapeshifter that usually took the form of a seagull, but could transform to have an almost human form, if it weren’t for the giant pair of wings he still sported in his human-esque form. Chris spent most of his time in the nearby human castle town, and Victor found that he was quite knowledgeable about human life. When Chris was not flying around the town, he could be found roosting on a small rocky island, which is where Victor was now headed. 

Luckily, Victor could see the birdman perched on a tree on the island as he swam up to the rocks.

“Chris!” Victor yelled, waving his arm at the bird. Maccachin gave a loud bark. The seagull turned its head towards the mermaid, and then hopped off the branch, quickly transforming into his human shape. He was a tall man with golden skin, short blonde hair, and piercing green eyes framed with long eyelashes. He wore a white toga like garment, which always seemed to be slipping off his shoulder and showing way too much skin.

“Hello Victor,” Chris crooned, laying on the edge of the island. “It’s been too long since you’ve visited me, you know how lonely I get.”

“I’m sorry Chris,” Victor said, pulling himself up onto the rocky outcropping and wringing out his hair. “Father has had me busy helping him with a banquet and I could not get away, as much as I wanted to.”

“Sounds dreadful,” Chris said, sitting up and twirling a finger through Victor’s silver hair. “What can I help you with today, I’m sure there must be something.”

“Oh yes!” Victor said, twisting around to grab his bag. “I found a shipwreck deep in the depths, oh Chris it was beautiful! There were so many things that I had never seen before but my visit got cut short by a nosy shark.”

“A shark?” Chris asked, his eyebrow twitching upwards in disbelief.

“It was huge, right Maccachin,” Victor said, looking at the seal. Maccachin barked loudly, making Chris laugh.

“Well since Maccachin says it I have to believe it. I’m glad you’re okay,” Chris replied.

Victor rummaged in his bag, first pulling out the pronged object he had found on the ship. “What is this?” he asked, handing it to the bird.

“Hmmmm,” Chris mused. “Oh, that’s easy, it’s a dinglehopper.”

“A what?” Victor asked, once again amazed at how weird human names were.

“A dinglehopper,” Chris repeated. “Humans use it to comb their hair. Look watch.” Chris took some of Victor’s hair and began to comb through it. “It makes your hair all straight.”

“Weird,” Victor said, taking the dinglehopper back from Chris. He passed his bag over to the man. “I have a few other things that I found.”

Chris went through the items, explaining their functions as Victor absently passed the dinglehopper through his hair. The two talked for a long time until the sun began to drop low into the sky, and Victor finally said goodbye, heading back to his golden castle under the waves.  
~~~  
The next day, Victor took Maccachin and his treasures from the ship and snuck away from the castle to his secret hideaway. A few years ago he had found a hidden cavern and had since then used it to store all of the human objects he had found. He loved looking at all the trinkets and sometimes pretended like he was human.

Victor hummed as he looked around the cavern, finding places to put his new trinkets when he heard a voice yelling from the cave entrance.

“VICTOR! ARE YOU IN THERE?”

“Yesssssss,” Victor called back dreamily, twirling the dinglehopper through his hair as he floated around the cavern. In a second, a very young, very angry merman had swam into the cavern. His name was Yuri and he was Victor’s youngest brother, and much to Yuri’s chagrin, he was sent to look after Victor most of the time. Because Victor’s head was stuck in the clouds most of the time, King Yakov sent Yuri to keep Victor grounded. Even though that never worked.

Yuri was a young merman, he had shoulder length blonde hair and icy blue eyes, that were filled with rage most of the time. He also had a tail that resembled that of a tiger shark with a pointed fin and brown stripes all around it. 

“Dad’s been wondering where you were all morning, how does he still not know about this creepy human shrine you have?” Yuri grumbled, scratching Maccachin’s head as the seal came over and licked his hand.

“Because Yura, I do not want him to know, and you are not going to tell him,” Victor replied.

“Oh, but you admit that this place is creepy,” Yuri smirked.

“It is not creepy,” Victor retorted.

“Says you,” Yuri said, flicking his tail. “Your obsession is disgusting, why do you even like humans? They’re clumsy and gross.”

Victor pouted. “They are not gross. They build magnificent castles and beautiful ships, and they can dance Yuri, oh I wish I could dance,” Victor continued, grabbing his brother’s hands and twirling him around the cavern.

“Let go of me! Victorrrrrr!” Yuri shouted, pushing away from his brother who continued to twirl around, humming again. “God you’re so gross.”

“One day I’ll talk to a human, you’ll see,” Victor said, sighing.

“And the day you do, dad will have an aneurism,” Yuri grumbled. “Now come on, dad wanted to talk to you about banquet stuff.”

Victor sighed. “Alright.” He followed Yuri out of the cave, placing the dinglehopper on a shelf in the cavern before leaving.  
~~~  
Yuri loved the sea. As a prince, most of his time was spent in a castle learning about ruling, but sometimes his parents had to take trips to other kingdoms and Yuri loved to go with them just so he could sail. When he was young he had spent almost all his time on ships, learning how to tie knots, rig the sails, read the winds, he had even gotten to sail some ships, never far from the harbor though. He loved the smell of the salty air, the wind tousling his hair, the sound of the seabirds as they called. 

He would admit, some of his fascination of the sea came from a more… mythical source. When he was a small child his mother would tell him bedtime stories about the mysterious merpeople who lived deep below the water’s surface. He was entranced by the tales of the people who hid in the oceans, of the mighty merking who ruled over the seven seas and could control the waves, of the luck a merperson could bring to a sailor if they managed to spot one. Yuri had spent more time than he would own up to looking out at the waves trying to spot a mermaid’s tail, and he had more paintings of the mythical creatures covering the walls of his room than he would ever confess. He loved merpeople, even if he had never seen one.

For his birthday, his royal advisor and best friend Phichit Chulanont had decided to throw him a grand birthday party on one of his family’s largest ships. While Yuri loved being out on the sea, he was very uncomfortable with crowds and parties were definitely not his thing. So, he was spending most of the party off in one corner with his golden retriever Minami. Minami was a young dog, one he had not had long, but he was already a devoted companion. Minami helped Yuri when his anxiety began to grow and Yuri was glad to have him.

“Yuriiiiiii,” Phichit drawled out, causing Yuri to look up from the dog. “You do know this party is for you, right?” 

“I do, and thank you for the party, but you know that I am not really good at these events,” Yuri replied.

“I know, I know, you would rather be sailing the ship or reading your books,” Phichit sighed. “But come on! At least have drink. Mingle, dance, enjoy the night!”

“Are you just trying to set me up with someone again?” Yuri laughed, grabbing a glass of champagne from a table and taking a drink.

“I mean, I would be lying if I did not say that was an ulterior motive for this party,” Phichit. “Your parents do keep asking me if there is anyone special in your life yet.”

Yuri sighed, downing the rest of his glass of champagne. His parents had been asking him the exact same question. He just… had not found the right person yet. He also doubted he would have the confidence to pursue a relationship if he did find the right person.

Phichit grabbed Yuri’s empty glass and replaced it with a full one. “Don’t worry about it Yuri. Have no worries today, it’s your birthday and you need to have fun!”

Yuri laughed. “Thanks, Phichit. Also, thanks again for the birthday present, it’s pretty cool.” Phichit had commissioned a sculptor to create a life-sized statue of Yuri, but as a merman instead of a human. Yuri’s hair had been slicked back and his muscles all looked more chiseled than they were in real life. He was sitting on a rocky pedestal and his long fish tail was draping over the side. Overall, he was more handsome in the statue than real life. Yuri thought it was a little embarrassing, but he also secretly wished he had that tail.

Phichit smirked. “Thought you would like it, since you want to live in the ocean so bad.” Yuri shoved his arm playfully and the two laughed and went to join the rest of the party.  
~~~  
Victor was following Yuri back to the castle when he heard a loud noise coming from the surface above. He looked up and saw colors dancing on the water, and the shape of a large ship overhead.  
“What is that?” Victor asked, swimming upwards before he had finished asking the question.

“Victor!” Yuri yelled. “Get your ass back over here!” He groaned as he swam quickly after Victor. “Dad is going to kill you, and I am not going to defend you because I’m just as done with your shit as he is.”

Victor ignored his brother and popped his head out of the water, looking at the large ship in front of him. Lights were hanging all over the ship and Victor could hear loud music coming from the ship. He heard loud booms above the ship and saw colorful explosions paint the sky. It was beautiful. He made his way closer to the ship.

“Victor!” Yuri yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the boom of another colorful explosion. He swam frantically after his brother. “We have to go!”

Victor ignored Yuri and pulled himself up on a rope until he reached a ledge where he could see the deck of the ship. He briefly looked down where Yuri was glaring daggers at him, but then he became enraptured by the scene in front of him. The deck of the ship was crowded with humans, some were talking, some were drinking. But most of them were dancing. Victor leaned forwards and leaned his head on his hands, enamored by the grace these humans had as they moved around. However, one man caught his eye. The man was dancing with another man around the deck of the ship. He was a young man, younger than Victor but older than Yuri. He had fluffy black hair, his eyes were framed by spectacles, and he had a dazzling smile. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up around his elbows. He was wearing dark blue pants and knee high black boots. A bright red sash was tied around his waist. And he was dancing, but not in a way that Victor had ever seen before. He danced with reckless abandon his movements barely controlled but somehow still fluid. The dance was exciting and happy and wonderful.

Victor’s heart leapt as he heard the man’s laugh and suddenly he did not want to hear anything else but that laugh until the day he died, that is until he heard the man speak.

“Phichitttttt, you’re a great dancer,” Yuri slurred, stopping their drunken dancing around the ship. A few people around them were staring at their intoxicated prince unapprovingly but they kept quiet.  
Phichit laughed. “Thanks buddy. Let’s get you some air, you have had a little too much champagne.”

“I don’t know,” Yuri countered. “I think I’ve had just enough.”

“Sure,” Phichit smiled, leading his drunken friend over to the edge of the ship so he could sober up a bit. Minami padded over and Yuri gave him a pat on the head. They were unknowingly standing right in front of Victor, and Victor ducked his head down a little so he would be a little less noticeable.

“Phichit you’re such a good friend,” Yuri said, hiccupping at the end of his sentence. Victor had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing at how cute that was.

“I know that,” Phichit said laughing. “I just wish you would say it to me more when you were sober.”

“You’re so great though, and I’m so… not” Yuri said, suddenly deflating from his drunken high. “You’re so good with people, I’m so awkwardddddd.”

“You are not” Phichit said, sighing. He often had to work Yuri out of his funks, but it was way harder when his friend was highly intoxicated and stubborn. 

“I am thoooough,” Yuri said, draping himself over the side of the railing of the boat. Victor suddenly held his breath and squished himself against the side of the ship, feeling as though he had been caught. But the man’s eyes were closed, and the other man, Phichit, quickly dragged him back over the railing.

“Yuri, come on,” Phichit said, poking his friend, causing his friend to giggle-hiccup when the poke tickled him. Victor’s heart melted. “You’re smart, and you’re kind, and you’re going to be a great king someday. You’re just shy, and sometimes you get too in your head. You’ll get better.”

“Phichittttttt you’re so niceeeeeee,” Yuri said, wrapping his arms around his friend in a sloppy hug.

Phichit laughed and patted Yuri on the back. “Love you too buddy.” 

Suddenly, the ship lurched, and Yuri fell onto Phichit. “Why is the ship sideways?” the drunk man asked. Victor looked down and he saw his brother and Maccachin struggling as the waves were growing bigger. He looked up in the sky and lightning lit up the clouds. Victor looked back at the ship but it was in chaos as the ship’s crew tried to get the ship together and the guests all moved to get out of the way. Victor could not see the mysterious man- also surprisingly named Yuri- anymore. Victor jumped off of the ship and dived into the water, swimming over to his brother.

“Yuri, are you alright?” Victor asked as lightning flashed across the sky again.

“Let’s just leave!” Yuri shouted and Victor nodded, but looked back towards the ship when he heard the loud crack of lightning. Suddenly the ship was ablaze and shouting could be heard along with the pounding rain. A large wave crashed against the ship, causing it to tip over and soon the ship was sinking in a fiery blaze. Victor’s heart leapt to his throat. Before he knew what he was doing, he had dove under the water and swam to the other side of the ship. He had to know if this other Yuri was alright.

Yuri sputtered in the water, thrashing his arms. Normally he was a very strong swimmer, but even after he had been knocked into the water his mind was still a little foggy from the alcohol. Coughing he worked to keep himself afloat when suddenly two arms grabbed him.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you buddy!” Phichit said, pulling Yuri onto a life boat they had managed to drop down before the ship had tipped over. Yuri had to catch his breath before he could reply to his friend. 

“Thanks, Phichit,” Yuri said, looking around the life boat. “Where’s Minami?”

“I don’t know,” Phichit replied. “I tried looking for him, but everything started moving so fast-“ Phichit was interrupted by the frantic sound of barking coming from the sinking ship. Yuri squinted, his glasses had fallen off in the water, but he could vaguely make out the golden blob of Minami, trying desperately to find a way off the boat.

“Minami!” Yuri called, the dog barking loudly in reply. Before Phichit could stop him, Yuri leapt back into the water and swam back to the ship, shakily climbing up a ladder on the side of the ship and pulling himself on the deck. He heard Minami franticly barking and he rushed over to the dog, dodging flaming debris. 

“Minami, here boy!” Yuri called. Minami whined loudly and Yuri saw that the dog had gotten trapped on a step that was surrounded by fire.

“Jump to me, you’ve got it!” Yuri cooed to the scared retriever. After a few more moments of whimpering the dog jumped and Yuri caught him in his arms. “Good boy, let’s get out of here.” Yuri made his way back to the edge of the ship, but suddenly a floorboard that had been fire damaged crumbled under his foot and he tripped, accidently throwing Minami over the side of the ship as he fell.

“Ah!” Yuri shouted, gritting his teeth as his ankle twisted beneath him. He pulled his leg but it was stuck in between a board.

“Yuri!” he heard Phichit call to him.

“Phichit, I’m-“ he tried to call back but then a loud explosion turned his world into fire.  
~~~  
Victor felt the heat as the ship combusted. He dived under the water, trying to find Yuri among the wreckage. He had not seen Yuri come out of the ship before the explosion had happened and his heart was beating too fast in his ears. He popped back of the water, coughing as smoke stung his eyes. He looked around until- there! Yuri had latched on to a floating plank but he was now unconscious and slipping into the water. Victor hurriedly swam over to him and grabbed him under the arms, pulling the man above the water, he pulled him away from the wreckage, looking around to see if he could find Yuri’s human companions, but he couldn’t see through the smoke. He pushed himself through the water when suddenly Yuri got lighter in his arms, and he saw another arm curling around the human. 

“Yuri?” Victor asked, surprised to see the younger merman. Yuri blew some hair out of his face.

“I don’t know why you are giving a shit about this human,” Yuri snapped. “But I’m not going to let you kill yourself over it. Let’s get him to shore, come on.”  
~~~  
Yuri laid on the sand breathing heavily. “Why did you have to choose the heaviest human to rescue? I think my arms are going to fall off.”

But Victor was not listening to his whiny brother. He was too enamored by the lovely face of the human in front of him. He reached up and brushed a stand of hair from the man’s forehead. 

“Is the fatso even still alive?” Yuri huffed, annoyed.

“Yes,” Victor murmured, watching the rise and fall of Yuri’s chest as he breathed. Victor laid his head on Yuri’s chest, listening to his soft heartbeat. Victor wished he could stay this way forever.

“Then let’s go! Dad is going to be mad, and I want you to get yelled at first,” Yuri said, sliding back into the water.

Victor hummed, sitting back up and brushing his fingers through Yuri’s hair. Finally the man groaned under his touch, beginning to awaken.

“Victor!” Yuri yelled. Victor was going to yell at his impatient brother that he should just swim back without him, but he heard the bark of a dog close by. He looked back down at Yuri.

“I’ll see you again,” Victor whispered, pressing his lips to the man’s forehead. Then he jumped back into the water to go back to his ocean home.  
~~~  
“I’ll see you again.”

Yuri’s eyes flittered open, and above him was what could only be described as a literal angel. Their entire being was haloed by the light from the rising sun. Because Yuri had lost his glasses, this mystery person was blurry, but he could see their eyes. They were so blue, bluer than the ocean. He felt like he would fall into them.

But then they were gone. Yuri sat up quickly to try and see who this mystery person was, but he got dizzy and fell back into the sand. Before he could attempt to sit up again, he felt the slobbery tongue of a dog licking all over his face.

“Minami? Minami, down boy!” Yuri said, shoving the excited pooch away and slowly sitting up. He still felt very dizzy, but he was assuming that was because of the large amount of alcohol Phichit had encouraged him to drink last night. It could have been worse, Yuri had been known to not remember drunken nights, so at least he had not gotten that drunk. Minami brought him back to the present with another slobbery kiss. Yuri laughed. “I’m glad you’re okay too.” As he ruffled the red fur on the top of the dog’s head, a figure ran around the edge of the beach.

“Oh, thank god, Yuri!” Phichit called, running over to his friend. “Are you alright? We were looking everywhere for you!”  
“I’m alright Phichit,” Yuri said. “Damp and slightly hungover, but fine.”

“Oh thank god,” Phichit said, dropping on all fours as if melting from relief. “When you got stuck on the boat- and then it exploded- we couldn’t find you- I had no idea what I was going to tell your parents-“

“I’m fine Phichit,” Yuri laughed, gently patting his friend on the head. He turned his head back to the ocean, squinting, trying to see if there was any sign of whoever had brought him here. The ocean had already washed away any evidence that might have been left in the sand.

“Phichit did you see anyone with me a moment ago?” Yuri asked offhandedly.

“Huh?” Phichit replied, looking up at Yuri. “No, you were alone. Why?”

“Someone pulled me out of the wreckage,” Yuri said. “They were here but… They left when they heard Minami barking.” Minami licked Yuri’s hand at the sound of his name. “They were beautiful…”

“Yuri, you are both hungover and waterlogged,” Phichit said, standing up and brushing sand off of his pants then holding his hand out for his friend. “Your brain probably thought you were dying and gave you a pretty person to look at before you died.”

“No, I promise, they were there,” Yuri replied, grabbing Phichit’s hand and shakily standing up, leaning on Phichit as he was hit by another spell of dizziness. “They spoke to me, I promise!”

“Okay well,” Phichit said, starting to lead his friend back to the castle. “If there was a gorgeous person who saved you, I will definitely help you find them. It’s not like you’ve been interested in anyone else I’ve tried to introduce you to. Now let’s get you home, your parents are very upset.”  
~~~  
“He loves me… he loves me not… he loves me… he loves me not.”

Victor was laid out on a rocky platform in the middle of his collection cavern, plucking the petals off sea flowers as he thought about the human he was head over heels for. He had not gotten to go back up to the surface to see the man yet, but he knew he would soon. He had to see Yuri again. 

As Victor plucked the last petal off, he exclaimed “He loves me!” Victor giggled and held the bare flower stalk to his chest in happiness. Victor knew that this was just a game and he had no real idea of what Yuri felt for him, but his heart fluttered every time he thought the human might even have any feelings for him.

Maccachin floated over and licked Victor’s hand and Victor dazedly petted the seal on the head. He pushed himself off of the platform and floated over to the statue he had found in the wreckage of Yuri’s ship. Surprisingly it had not gotten damaged. It was the statue of Yuri, the one of him as a merman. Victor sighed.

“Why can’t you actually be a merman?” Victor said, gently stroking the statue’s face. “If you were we could already be together.”

“VICTORRRR!”

Victor turned his head towards the source of the shouting, which was of course his brother Yuri, but then furrowed his brow when he saw the younger merman looked rather distressed. “Yuri what’s wrong?”

“It’s dad, he’s on his way here, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to tell,” Yuri sputtered out, grabbing Victor’s arm and pulling him towards the entrance of the cave.

“HE’S WHAT?” Victor said, ripping his arm away from his brother.

“If you want to keep this place a secret we gotta go-" Yuri replied.

“No no no no,” Victor whispered panicking under his breath. His father was the absolute last person he wanted to see his collection. “Yuri, how could you?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Yuri explained. “Father was just complaining about how you kept disappearing all the time and I got annoyed and it just sort of came out, I’m sorry Victor.”

“How much did you tell him?” Victor asked loudly. “What does he know?”

“Just about the cave… maybe a little about your gross human crush.”

“YURI!” Victor said, grabbing the arms of his little brother. “Yuri I asked you to keep this secret! Father will never understand!”

“I’m sorry Victor-"

“Vitya… what is this place?”

Victor sucked in a sharp breath before letting go of Yuri’s arms and slowly turning to the voice that had just spoken. His father, King Yakov, had just entered the cavern, and his stern face was already filled with confusion and anger. “Father, I can explain-"

“Vitya why do you have all of these…human things?” King Yakov asked slowly.

“I-"

“The human world is a forbidden place, you know that,” his father interrupted. 

“I know I just-"

“Victor have you been in contact with the humans?” His father asked, his voice getting louder.

“No, not really-"

“And now you lie to me!” King Yakov shouted. “Yura has told me how you rescued that human.”

“He was going to drown-"

“Why should you care?” King Yakov interrupted again. “One less human in the world, one less air breather tainting the ocean.”

“You’ve never even met him, you don’t know him-"

“And you do?” His father exclaimed. “Victor he’s a human they’re all the same. I set this rule for a reason, there is to be no contact between humans and merpeople.”

“Father I love him!” 

The silence that fell upon the cavern felt like it could crush them. Victor did not know if he had meant to say that out loud but he knew in his heart it was true. He was in love with a human.

“What do you know about love Victor?” Yakov said, his voice softer but still angry. “You see a human who you think is beautiful and you think you’re in love? Please Victor. He’s a human, you’re a merman, grow up.”

“Just because you hate humans doesn’t mean they’re all bad!” Victor retorted.

“What, you think you can just swim to this man and he’ll love you? You’re from two different worlds!” Yakov said, his voice getting louder again.

“I don’t care!” Victor said. He knew he was being stubborn, that this was not the behavior expected from an almost king. He couldn’t let it go though, not when he felt so passionately about humans.

“Fine then Vitya!” his father shouted. “If you want to continue this selfish behavior and don’t want to listen to reason, you leave me no choice.” His father lifted his trident and it began to glow as it filled with magic.

“Father no!” Victor screamed, trying to knock away the trident but there was nothing he could do. And he watched, as his father destroyed all of the trinkets he had spent hours collecting. Watched as his treasures shattered before his eyes. And he choked back a sob as he beautiful statue of his precious Yuri was destroyed. Victor sank to the ground and wept. He felt like his heart had been broken, the only things he had connecting him to the man he loved were gone. So he wept, even if it was unbecoming of a prince, even if it was a humiliating thing to do in front of his father and brother. His father did not say anything, he just swam away slowly. 

“I’m sorry Victor,” Yuri mumbled. Maccachin swam over and tried licking Victor on the hand, but Victor pushed him away.

“Just go,” Victor choked out, and Yuri looked at his brother sadly before calling Maccachin and leaving his brother heartbroken, surrounded by the shards of his broken treasures.  
~~~  
Victor wasn’t sure how long he had been crying. His eyes stung. The tears had stopped and he felt so empty. He did not know what to do now. He was torn between wanting to sit and cuddle Maccachin and never talk to his father again but also wanting to swim away, find Yuri and somehow prove his father wrong, that they could be together even though Victor had a tail instead of legs.

“Well, well, well, it looks like someone has a problem.”

Victor snapped up his head, looking around. “Who’s there?”

Slowly, three eels slid out from cracks in the wall of the cave. The eels were all identical, but one was light blue, one was a pinkish color, and the last one was purple. “Don’t worry, we’re not scary. We’re here to help.” The eels swirled around Victor, one tangling in his hair. Victor pulled his hair closer.

“Why would you want to help me?” Victor asked. 

“Our employer is very interested in helping others,” one eel said.

“He really wants to help you be with your prince,” said the next.

“Wants to give you a happy ever after,” said the last.

“Who…do you work for?” Victor asked slowly. 

“The Sea Witch Georgi of course!” all three eels said in unison.

“The Sea Witch‽” Victor exclaimed. His father had told him stories about the Sea Witch. Georgi had been one of his father’s students, King Yakov had taught young Georgi magic. But Georgi began to misuse his magic, cursing innocent merfolk that Georgi felt had wronged him. So King Yakov had banished Georgi from the kingdom and no one had heard from him since.

“I can’t go to the Sea Witch,” Victor said.

“Are you sure?” the blue eel asked.

“Georgi makes dreams come true,” the pink eel said.

“Said he could help you,” the purple eel finished.

Victor bit his bottom lip. He really did not want to go back home. And if Georgi could help him be with Yuri…

“Fine,” Victor replied. “I’ll come with you.”  
~~~  
Yuri was sitting outside of the cave with Maccachin when Victor suddenly swam out of the top of the cavern, following three eels. Where had they come from? Yuri hadn’t seen anyone go in the entrance of the cave. Yuri swam quickly to his brother.

“Victor, are you okay? Where are you going?” Yuri asked.

“I’m going to see Georgi,” Victor said, not looking at his brother.

“The sea witch?” Yuri asked. “Victor don’t be stupid, that idiot got banished for a reason, you’re going to do something dumb. We need to go home.”

“You go,” Victor snapped. “Tell father how stupid I’m being, evidently you like doing that.” Victor glanced at his brother and the blonde looked as though he had been slapped. Victor knew that had been harsh, it had just slipped out before he could stop it. He looked away from his brother, but could see him and Maccachin following out of the corner of his eye. 

After a while they finally made it to the cave of the sea witch. The cave was secluded in an area surrounded by deep sea vents that spit hot air bubbles up through the water. The cavern was menacing, and as he got closer he could see it was surrounded by little creatures. He did not know how else to describe them. They looked like plants growing out of the ground, with big wrinkly heads and sad eyes. Victor shivered when he saw them. They were creepy. He followed the three eels into the cave, but as he did the creatures lifted their heads and tried to grab at him. Victor swam upwards away from them, when he heard a voice.

“Come in, it’s rude to lurk in doorways.”

Victor swallowed hard and made the rest of the way into the cave, followed closely by Maccachin and Yuri. Inside was a large room, and it was filled to the brim with magic ingredients. Different plants and magical objects were littered around the room.

“We brought him Boss!” the three eels said in unison.

“Thank you, Axel, Lutz, and Loop, you’re very helpful,” came a voice. Out of an open passageway finally came Georgi the Sea Witch. Georgi was an intimidating figure. He had pale skin and jet black hair, that was styled smartly into a pointed pompadour. He had deep blue eyes that were framed by dark black eyeliner and purple pigment, and his lips were painted a bright purple. He had a smirk on his face as though he knew something you did not. A golden shell pendant hung around his neck. Instead of a tailfin like Victor and Yuri had, the Sea Witch had eight large black tentacles that had purple suctions on the underside. 

“So, you’re in love with a human hmmm?” Georgi mused. “Yakov must have been delighted by that. At least he’s a prince, you could have fallen for someone worse.”

“How do you know all this?” Victor said, scratching Maccachin on the head as he came up timidly under Victor’s arm.

“Oh, I know everything, I make it my business to know everything,” Georgi replied. He headed over to a bubbling cauldron and threw in a plant, making a cloud of steam come from it. “And you’re particularly interesting, being the next king and all.”

“Your… eels said you could help me,” Victor said. 

“Oh, I can,” Georgi said, swimming slowly towards Victor and wrapping a tentacle around his waist. Victor sucked in a breath, unnerved by the feeling of the tentacle on his skin. “The only way to be with your lover is to make you a human, which I can do, for a price of course.”

“You can make me a human‽” Victor exclaimed. Suddenly his heart was beating too loud. More than just being with Yuri, being human, living on land, that was all he had wanted for a while. It sounded too good to be true.

“Yes,” Georgi said, letting Victor go and swimming back to the cauldron, dropping in a sea flower. “I have this potion, and it will turn you human for three days. Three days is all you get, unless you can get your prince to fall in love with you. If by sunset on the third day you can get your love to kiss you, the spell becomes permanent, and you get legs forever.”

Victor was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. There was no way Georgi could offer him all he wanted.

“What’s the catch?” Yuri suddenly asked.

Georgi glared at the young merman. “There are only a couple of caveats. The first is, if you can’t get your prince to love you by the third day, your soul belongs to me. And also,” Georgi paused, dropping another ingredient into the cauldron. “there is the subject of upfront payment.”

“Of course, I can pay,” Victor said, swatting off Yuri who was trying to yank Victor away.

“I’m not asking for money,” Georgi replied. “What I want from you is… your voice.”

Victor paused. His voice? That was a strange price. “But how will I get Yuri to love me if I can’t talk to him?”

“Have you looked at yourself lately?” Georgi replied, smirking. “Your looks will get you halfway through the door already. And don’t underestimate body language, it can get you everywhere. Besides, wouldn’t it be so much more satisfying if you could say you wooed your prince without saying a single word to him?”

Victor thought for a moment. He was probably being a fool. He should just leave and forget Yuri and move on. That would be the sensible thing to do. But Victor was not being sensible. He was angry, upset, and in love, and this was a way to get what he wanted. To live with his true love forever.

“Victor this is stupid,” Yuri hissed. “Don’t do this.” Maccachin whined and nudged at Victor’s hand.

“I’ll do it,” Victor said, causing his brother to groan. “I’ll take your deal.”

“Excellent!” Georgi exclaimed, throwing one last ingredient into his cauldron. “Let’s begin then shall we?” Georgi began to chant in a language unfamiliar to Victor and the cauldron glowed green, shooting sparks around Victor. Georgi stopped chanting and looked at Victor. “Sing for me.”

Victor hesitated and then began to sing a little tune. As he sang however, it felt like his song was being sucked out of him, and soon his melody had been collected into the shell pendant that Georgi wore around his neck. Georgi laughed and then said a few more words and Victor began to change. He was surrounded by light, his body felt like it was on fire. Then his tail felt like thousands of tiny pinpricks were covering it until suddenly, he no longer had a tail. Instead he had two legs. He had legs! Also he couldn’t breathe. And he quickly figured out that swimming with a large tail was much faster that trying to swim with gangly legs.

“Idiot!” Yuri said, grabbing one of his arms and quickly pulling his brother up out of Georgi’s cave through an opening in the roof. Maccachin helped by pushing him upwards and finally they burst through the surface of the water and Victor gasped as he could finally breathe.

“I can’t believe you did that, I can’t believe this is happening right now,” Yuri griped as he helped Victor clumsily swim towards the shore. “You listened to the sea witch! You made a deal with the sea witch! I knew you were stupid but never did I ever think you would be that stupid.” Victor, however, could not stop grinning. He had legs! He was human! He couldn’t wait to walk and run and dance and jump. 

Finally, the two made it to the shore and Victor sat in the shallows, admiring his new toes. He couldn’t believe he had toes! He laughed a silent laugh, wiggling each digit.

“Dad is literally going to kill you when he finds out,” Yuri said. “You are going to die.”

Victor shot a pleading look at his brother, making an X formation with his arms. His brother couldn’t tell their father. Victor needed to meet Yuri, needed to get him to fall in love, and he knew their father would never understand.

“Oh, you don’t want me to tell dad. How am I supposed to explain why you’re going to be gone for three days?” Yuri asked, annoyed. Victor shrugged in a sort of “figure it out” way. Maccachin barked and Yuri groaned. How did he get stuck with such an idiot for a brother?

“Well, well, well, looks like someone got rid of their sea legs.”  
Victor looked towards the source of the voice and saw Chris sitting on the top of a rock above him. Victor clapped excitedly and pointed one of his new legs up, showing it off to his friend.

“Oh god not you,” Yuri groaned, putting his face in his hands. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw some commotion, decided to check it out,” Chris said jumping off the rock and landing in the water next to Victor. “Where’d the new legs come from Vitya, daddy give you a present?” Victor shook his head and pleadingly looked at his brother to explain.

“This dumbass went to a sea witch and traded his tail for legs,” Yuri begrudgingly explained. “And he had to give up his voice for it. And if he doesn’t get his human to kiss him in three days then his soul belongs to said sea witch.”

“My, my, my how romantic,” Chris said. He sat down on a rock next to Victor and took one of Victor’s legs in his hand. “Well at least the sea witch gave you nice legs, he could have given you like, a short one and a long one, or like different colored ones.”

“He shouldn’t have legs at all!” Yuri shouted, exasperated. “He’s just stupid and thinks he’s in love!”

Victor glared at his brother before splashing him. He did not think he was in love, he knew it. Even if no one believed him.

“Have you tried walking on them yet?” Chris asked. Victor shook his head.

“He couldn’t even swim, walking might be a little out of his range,” Yuri said, earning another glare from Victor. 

Chris stood up and held out his hand for Victor. Victor took it and Chris pulled him up, but Victor immediately fell into Chris’s arms. His legs were shaking, it was hard for him to stand.

“Easy there!” Chris said, helping Victor stay on his feet. Victor stood shakily for a few moments but was soon able to take a few teetering steps away from Chris.

“There you go, you’ll be a regular human in no time!” Chris said. Victor gave an excited jump but his legs buckled underneath him and he fell into the water. He started laughing, his body trembling even though no sound was produced.

“You’re so stupid,” Yuri muttered as Victor got back up. “You’re going to not only get your heart broken but you’re also going to become one of Georgi’s little sea plant creatures. There is no winning here.”

“Yuri, you’re such a buzzkill,” Chris said. “Victor is charming, he’ll probably get the prince to kiss him by the end of today.” Victor snorted and lightly punched Chris on the arm. He was pretty sure that would not happen, even though it would be terribly convenient if that did happen. Chris looked at Victor for a moment. “We are going to have to do something about the nakedness though, most humans are quite against walking around in the nude. I’ll be right back,” Chris said, flapping off to go find something for Victor to wear. Victor looked down at himself, unsure as to why humans would be embarrassed at showing themselves. The human form was quite beautiful. But he didn’t want to startle Yuri, so he would cover up if that would help him win over his prince.

Chris soon came back with a part of a boat sail that he had found in some wreckage nearby. Chris complained that he wished he could have found something nicer for the merprince, but Chris was able to tie it around Victor in a makeshift outfit. Victor twirled around, showing off his new clothing. Maccachin barked excitedly, hopping awkwardly around Victor.

“You look like an idiot,” Yuri yelled at his brother. Victor frowned at him, running some fingers through his hair.

“I think he looks great,” Chris said. “Besides, once we find his prince, he’ll probably get a new outfit anyways.”

“Well he looks like an idiot right now,” Yuri muttered. “Yo birdbrain, you know you’re going to have to look after this dork while he’s on land. Some of us still have tails like normal people.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Chris replied. “I will keep you fully in the loop as to what your brother is up to. Unless it gets inappropriate, who knows, Victor might work fast.” Victor laughed silently and Yuri stuck out his tongue in disgust.

“Gross,” Yuri groaned. “Well, that’s my cue to leave. I’ll come back tonight.” Victor leaned down and hugged his brother. “Get off me! Oh, and I’ll take care of Maccachin I guess. Can’t believe you’re leaving him, what is happening.” Victor quickly scratched Maccachin on the head and the seal bounced after Yuri, the two swimming away in a splash. 

Victor started to wobbly walk down the beach, Chris flying in front as a bird, leading the way to the castle where Chris said Yuri lived. Victor couldn’t help but take in every little thing, how the warm sand felt between his toes, how the sea breeze felt on his skin. It was so new, so exciting. Even though his heart yearned for Yuri, he almost felt content. Just… being human felt so right. 

Suddenly Chris squawked and flew around excitedly. Victor glanced up at the bird, trying to interpret what that meant when loud barking started coming closer up the beach, followed by some shouting that Victor could not make out. Victor couldn’t even think before he was tackled by a large furry blob. It was licking his face, covering his cheek in drool. Victor pushed the fluffy mass away to see it was… a dog? Victor scratched the dog on the neck, the dog leaned into his hand. This dog had long, soft, golden fur, and a stripe of red fur falling on his face. 

“Wait,” Victor thought, “I know this dog.” Right when he came to that realization he heard the shouting voice again, and his heart skipped a beat.

“Minami! Why’d you run boy- Ohmygosh, Minami! Down boy! Are you okay, I’m so sorry!”

Victor wanted to cry. Because finally, in front of him at last, was his Yuri. Victor’s hands fell away from Minami, causing the dog to give him a puzzled look. Yuri looked beautiful, his cheeks tinged pink from running after the dog, his hair mussed from the ocean breeze.

Yuri called the dog over to him, and walked over to Victor, offering him his hand. “Sorry about that, I don’t know what got into him. He’s really friendly I swear. Are you okay?”

Victor nodded his head and took Yuri’s hand, not taking his eyes off the boy as he pulled him off of the ground. Even if Victor had had a voice right now, he would have been speechless. Before he had all these things he had wanted to say to Yuri but he could no longer remember what they were. He just wanted to take Yuri’s hand and never let go.

“I’m sorry again,” Yuri said nervously, pushing his hair back. “Minami’s totally harmless, I promise…” Yuri trailed off. Because the man in front of him, seemed unreal. Firstly, he was dressed in an old sailboat sail, which was strange, but somehow it looked beautiful on this stranger. He was beautiful, with silver hair that flowed down his porcelain skin, and eyes… eyes that were so familiar.

“Do I… know you?” Yuri asked hesitantly. Victor’s eyes widened and he violently nodded his head, grasping Yuri’s hands in his. Yuri remembered him! Remembered their brief meeting.

“Your eyes look really familiar,” Yuri responded. “What’s your name?”

Victor opened his mouth, but then closed it, remembering he had no voice.

“Do you remember your name?” Yuri asked. He didn’t ask to be funny, he was genuinely concerned. This man looked like he had been in a shipwreck or something, maybe he had hit his head.  
Victor nodded his head yes, then tapped his throat and made an X with his arms, trying to convey to Yuri that he could not speak.

“You have no voice?” Yuri asked. Victor nodded. “Are you sick?” Victor shook his head. “Oh, well are you okay? Do you have somewhere to go, I would hate to leave you here alone, especially since my dog just attacked you,” Yuri said laughing. Victor’s heart jumped to his throat again, hearing Yuri’s beautiful laugh. Victor shook his head again. “Um, okay, well come with me I guess, I can take you back to my home and we’ll get you taken care of.” Minami hopped excitedly around Victor and the two started their walk back to the castle.  
~~~  
Victor had never felt so pampered in his life. When Yuri had walked into the castle with Victor, he had gotten a few weird stares, but once Yuri had explained the situation to one of his maids, a kind girl named Yuuko, she had taken Victor to a room with a giant tub in it. After the tub had been filled with water and floral smelling bubbles, she beckoned for Victor get in the tub and she walked into another room. Victor untied the sail from around himself and lowered himself into the tub, sighing at the warmth. It was nice. His ocean home could sometimes be cold, although Victor never really noticed. Yuuko came back in a few moments later, holding some clothes in her arms.

“I hope these fit you,” Yuuko said, placing the clothes on a chair. “You’re a lot taller than most of the people here, but Lord Phichit had these that we believed would work.” She came and sat on a stool next to the tub and began to comb Victor’s hair. “Poor dear, you must have gone through a lot. I’m glad Yuri found you.” Victor smiled. He was glad too.  
~~~  
“So you just found a mysterious hot guy and brought him back here?”

Yuri groaned and put his head in his hands, leaning on top of the table. Phichit was sitting with him, talking before dinner was served. Phichit of course had already heard that Yuri had brought back a stranger to the castle because somehow Phichit knew everything the moment it happened. 

“He had been in a shipwreck or something Phichit, I couldn’t just leave him,” Yuri explained. “Besides… never mind it’s dumb.”

“No, tell me,” Phichit said, poking Yuri with a fork. 

“Well he… he looked like the person who saved me from the shipwreck,” Yuri said, blushing. “Which is impossible but I thought… for a moment maybe it was him.”

“Why is it impossible?” Phichit asked, taking a sip of water.

“Because,” Yuri sighed. “The person who saved me spoke to me. They said they would see me again. This stranger has no voice, it couldn’t be him.”

“Ooh, a mute stranger, he keeps getting more interesting,” Phichit teased. Yuri groaned and let his head bang on the table.

“Oh, dear you can come this way, you’ll be eating dinner in here.”

Yuri looked up and saw Yuuko walk into the dining room, and behind her, was the stranger.

He was beautiful.

He almost looked like a different person. His hair, now washed, fell softly down his back, and the sides were pinned up with golden clips. He was wearing a light pink tailcoat with gold buttons and gold trim around the neckline, dark magenta pants, and tall white boots. Yuri recognized the ensemble as one of Phichit’s, but on this person, it made him look regal and elegant. He was smiling a dazzling smile, and those eyes… they were captivating. Yuri stood up and pulled out the stranger’s chair. Victor’s smile somehow got wider as he sat down and Yuri pushed him in.

“Oh, um, this is Phichit, he’s my advisor, and also my best friend,” Yuri said, finally pulling his eyes away from the man to introduce his friend.

“I have to say,” Phichit said. “Those clothes look better than you than they ever could have looked on me, and that’s saying something because I looked fabulous in that outfit.” Victor silently laughed. Phichit seemed nice, Victor wished they could have a conversation. Hopefully Yuri would kiss him soon and they would have the chance to. 

Soon they were joined by Yuri’s mother, father, and older sister Mari. Yuri’s mother was a kind soul, and immediately made sure Victor felt welcome. Yuri’s father, the king, was rambunctious and loud, and very passionate when he spoke. His sister Mari was quiet, but less in a shy way and more of a she didn’t waste her breath unless she had something important to add. 

Even though Victor could not speak, he still felt very included in the family’s conversation. They told him about the kingdom, about the people. Phichit joked with Yuri, Yuri told Victor about sailing. They ate, laughed, and Victor was happy.

“Oh, dear,” Yuri’s mother said, turning to Victor. “Have you gotten to see the town yet?” Victor shook his head. “Oh! Then Yuri, you should show him around tomorrow!”  
Victor excitedly clapped and looked pleadingly at Yuri. He would love to see the town with Yuri, it would be so romantic.

“Yeah, sure,” Yuri said, smiling at Victor. Victor though his heart may have stopped for a beat when he saw that smile. Victor hoped he would get to see that smile forever.  
~~~  
That evening Victor snuck out of the castle and followed Chris to a section of the castle gardens that met with the ocean. As soon as Victor got to the edge of the water, a blonde head popped up.

“You still look stupid,” Yuri said to his brother, causing Victor to laugh. Victor had changed out of his dinner clothes and was now wearing a white flowing night gown and no shoes. He was pretty sure they might belong to human Yuri. He sat down at the edge of the water so he could properly talk to his brother.

“So, judging by your silence you still haven’t kissed your prince yet?” Yuri asked. Victor shook his head. Honestly, kissing Yuri had not been on his mind. He knew it should be, but he was having so much fun just being human and being with Yuri that it kept slipping his mind that he was on a time crunch. 

“Dad was wondering where you were, I made up some excuse that you had holed up in your room with Maccachin because you were mad at him,” Yuri said. “It probably won’t be a good excuse for much longer though.” Victor reached out and squeezed his brother’s hand in thanks. Victor knew he hadn’t been the kindest to Yuri lately, but he still appreciated that Yuri was keeping this secret for him.

“He’s got a date with the prince tomorrow though,” Chris said. “I heard some ladies talking about it. Plenty of time to make a romantic setting hmmm?”

Victor smiled. He already loved Yuri so much, he did wish that Yuri loved him that much back.

“Well, you better get to smooching,” Yuri grumbled. “Or else you get turned into a pet for a sea witch.”

They talked for a little while longer (well, Yuri talked, a lot, and occasionally Chris would add in something), but then Yuri had to swim back to their underwater kingdom. Victor waved him goodbye and then made his way back to the castle. 

As Victor walked through the castle back to the room they were letting him stay in, he passed by an open door, and it just so happened that when he glanced inside, he saw Yuri sitting on a bed, staring at an object that was sat in his lap. Occasionally he would move his hand over the object but then he would stop. His dog Minami was sleeping next to Yuri on the bed. Victor quietly knocked on the edge of Yuri’s doorframe, causing Yuri to look up.

“Oh, hello,” Yuri said, smiling. Again, Victor melted because of that smile. Victor waved. “You can come in, if you want.”

Victor slowly entered Yuri’s room. It was a large room, but it was very understated. Most of one side of the room was filled by Yuri’s large canopy bed, the canopy flowing in silver and blue. He also had a large wardrobe off to one side, and a small desk set next to a large window which Victor guessed usually looked out at the ocean but was currently covered by thick dark blue curtains. The room was illuminated by a few lamps set around the room.

What amazed Victor the most however was the paintings all over Yuri’s walls. His walls were covered in merpeople. Pictures depicting merpeople in various settings were everywhere. Swimming, lying on sunny rocks, some were surrounded by fish or swimming through coral reefs. They were actually pretty accurate. There was even one that Victor guessed was of his father, King Yakov. It was almost right, but they had given Yakov too much hair. Victor almost felt a pang of homesickness looking at them.

“Did you, um, need something?” Yuri asked nervously, setting his book aside. Victor turned to Yuri and smiled, shaking his head. Victor kept turning and looking at the paintings.  
“Do you like them?” Yuri asked. Victor nodded enthusiastically. “My family sometimes says it’s childish to believe in merpeople, but I still do.” 

Victor nodded and pointed to himself. “You believe in them?” Victor nodded again. “That’s cool.”

Victor kept turning around and looking at Yuri’s room, when he came across a painting that was different from the rest. It wasn’t of merpeople, it was a portrait. It depicted a younger Yuri, and he was holding a small brown puppy. Victor looked at Yuri and pointed at it.

“Oh, um, that’s me when I was little. That puppy was a present for my birthday. He passed away a couple of years ago,” Yuri explained, smiling sadly. “His name was Victor but I called him Vicchan most of the time.”

Victor’s eyes widened. He shared a name with Yuri’s dog, that was a weird coincidence. Maybe this was an opportunity. He pointed at the dog and then at himself, trying to convey that they shared a name.

“You have a dog?” Yuri guessed. Victor roughly shook his head and then pointed at the dog again.

“Dog?” Yuri guessed. Victor shook his head again and pointed at the Vicchan.

“Victor?” Yuri guessed again, making Victor nod. Then Victor pointed at himself. “…You’re Victor?” Victor clapped excitedly.

“Your name is Victor?” Yuri asked, causing Victor to excitedly nod. “Well that’s convenient. It will also make talking to you easier,” Yuri said, laughing. “Well it’s nice to meet you Victor.” 

Victor smiled. He liked the way Yuri said his name. He was happy that Yuri could say it more now. 

Victor waved at Yuri and walked back to his room, sinking into the big fluffy bed. He was so happy. He wasn’t sure he had ever been this happy. He hoped tomorrow, Yuri would kiss him and then he could be this happy forever.  
~~~  
The next day Yuri took Victor on a horse drawn carriage tour of the castle town. Victor was so excited to take everything in. He didn’t know what a lot of things were and he loved listening to Yuri explain. They walked around shops filled with trinkets that Victor would have loved in his collection. They saw street performers performing a small play. Yuri bought Victor some food, which he said was called pirozhki and the two continued to walk until Victor saw something.

People were dancing.

Right in the center of town, people had gathered around and started dancing to a small band. Victor tugged on Yuri’s arm and started to drag the prince towards the dancing.

“No! Victor I don’t dance!” Yuri protested. But Victor wasn’t taking no for an answer. He twirled Yuri around and around and Yuri laughed as they danced clumsily around the square. This was Victor’s first time dancing and he hoped it wouldn’t be his last. Dancing was everything he had hoped it would be. It was as if he was able to convey his thoughts through movement instead of words. As if he was using his body to say “I’m here, please stay close to me.” He hoped Yuri understood.

They danced and danced, their dance eventually getting slower as they pulled closer together. Yuri looked at Victor and Victor thought this boy had starlight in his eyes. He wanted to kiss Yuri there and then. Instead, he gently placed his forehead against Yuri’s and smiled. Yuri smiled too, as a blush creeped over his cheeks. 

“There’s- there’s one more place I want to show you,” Yuri murmered, looking down at his toes and gently grabbing Victor’s hand and pulling him back to their carriage. The two sat in content silence as Yuri guided them to a nearby pond, surrounded by huge willow trees. Yuri left the horses so they could graze, and led Victor to a small rowboat tied to a dock. He helped Victor into the boat and then gently got in after, laughing as Victor braced himself on the sides of the boat when it rocked a little. 

As Yuri slowly rowed them towards the middle of the pond, he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Victor was. His long silver hair was pulled up into a ponytail by a blue bow, and Yuri liked how it showed off Victor’s soft face. He had borrowed another outfit, but it was one he did not recognize. Maybe Phichit had bought it and never worn it. It was a white dress shirt with a black vest, blue pants that matched the bow in his hair, and black boots. And Victor looked as if he was moonlight itself. Soft but radiant, illuminating everything around him. He was so curious about the world, his head slowly turning around trying to take everything in. It was as if he had never seen anything like it. Yuri knew nothing about Victor, maybe he hadn’t seen anything like this place before. He wished he knew more about Victor, that Victor could speak to him.

Victor looked around the moonlit pond, mesmerized. Fireflies floated around the edge of the water, and he could hear the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs croaking. He looked over at one edge of the pond and his eyes widened in shock. Chris was perched in a willow tree, and he flew a bit closer when Victor noticed him. And barely, Victor could see a small blonde head poking up from the water and staring at him. Victor silently laughed, giving his brother a small wave. The younger merman spit water in his direction in acknowledgment. Victor smiled, turning back to Yuri, who was surprisingly staring at him thoughtfully. Victor tilted his head questioningly, running fingers through his hair. Did he have something on his face?

Yuri blushed when he noticed Victor staring back at him. “Oh, you’re fine! I was just thinking is all,” Yuri sputtered. Victor tilted his head again, as if to ask “About what?”

Yuri’s mind quickly buzzed as he tried to come up with another thing to say but he gave up and just told the truth. “You.”

Victor’s eyebrows raised in surprise. He liked this development. Yuri should think about him more. 

“You just… seem really interesting,” Yuri explained. “And I wish you could talk so we could have deeper conversations. I just wish I knew more about you.”

Victor looked down at his lap and wrung his hands together. There was a way that could happen. Yuri could kiss him. If they kissed, then Victor would be able to talk. And they could tell each other everything and fall deeper into love. But he was scared. Yuri was so much shier than Victor had imagined. He was so smart and kind, but he was also timid. And Victor did not want to scare him away. He knew he only had one day left with Yuri, and he hoped Yuri would become more comfortable with him so they could kiss tomorrow, but if he tried now, he was afraid Yuri would run away.

Chris sat above Yuri on a branch and looked on at the two lovebirds as Yuri began to tell Victor a story and Victor listened, enraptured.

“Why hasn’t Victor the moron kissed the other moron yet?” Yuri grumbled. “They’ve had plenty of chances.”

“You can’t just rush love,” Chris said. “Victor probably just doesn’t want to scare the poor dear.”

“Yeah well, he only has one day left,” Yuri muttered. “If he doesn’t want to end up as a creepy monster for the rest of his life he better suck it up.” 

“One day is enough,” Chris replied, winking at Yuri and causing him to groan. Chris transformed back into a seagull and flew closer to the boat which had drifted underneath a willow tree and was gently spinning under the branches. 

“I used to come here a lot,” Yuri said, looking up at the leaves swaying in the breeze. “I have really bad anxiety and not a lot of friends, so I would just come here for quiet. Just sit in this boat and float for hours. Everything just… stopped mattering for a while.”

Victor understood. That’s one reason he had started his collection of human objects. Finding the treasures helped take his mind off of the fact that he would be king someday. Victor reached out and squeezed Yuri’s hand, hoping the man understood the sentiment behind it. Yuri looked at Victor and smiled, squeezing his hand tighter.

“I- I had a lot of fun with you today,” Yuri said, leaning closer to Victor, not letting go of his hand. “I don’t really go out much, but this was nice.”

Victor smiled and leaned closer, squeezing Yuri’s hand again. Victor wished he could tell Yuri that today had been the best day of his life, that he hoped tomorrow would be even better, but instead he just looked at his and Yuri’s hand laced together, and he gently rubbed Yuri’s finger with his thumb. 

They sat there, their foreheads somehow managing to press together and their hands not parting, when suddenly the row boat rocked and tipped over, dumping Victor and Yuri into the pond. Victor was kind of glad that he did not have a voice so Yuri didn’t hear the high-pitched scream that inevitably would have risen out of his throat as he fell in the water. Victor popped out of the water coughing and whipping his head around looking for Yuri. Yuri finally popped back up sputtering. Yuri looked at Victor, then looked at himself and started laughing. Victor was not sure why Yuri was laughing, but he figured that the sight of them standing in a pond dripping wet must be pretty funny. Yuri’s laugh was infectious and soon Victor was silently laughing too.

“I’m sorry,” Yuri gasped, wiping a tear from his eye. “That just happened so quickly, and then you just looked so puzzled to be suddenly in the water.”

Victor silently giggled as Yuri managed to turn their rowboat back over. He was glad that getting dumped in a pond had not completely ruined the mood, even if it was a tad bit less romantic than before. They awkwardly climbed back in the boat and went back to the shore. Victor noted that his brother and Chris had disappeared once they tipped over. He wondered where they had gone.  
Yuri and Victor were quiet on the ride back to the castle, and Victor reluctantly parted from Yuri when they made it so they both could get out of their wet clothes. Once Victor was changed, he snuck back out to see if his brother was around. Victor waited at the section of water where he had seen his brother yesterday when Chris finally came and landed next to him and Yuri popped out of the water.

“Well now you have a problem in your stupid quest for love,” Yuri shouted. “The freaking sea witch is trying to sabotage you.” Victor tilted his head questioningly. 

“Georgi’s three little eel minions,” Yuri explained. “They were at the pond, they flipped over your boat.”

Victor’s eyes widened in shock. He had just thought that was an accident, that one of them had leaned too much in the boat. 

“I don’t know,” Chris mused. “It didn’t seem like it bothered those two much.” Victor smiled, rubbing a section on his thumb where he remembered Yuri’s touch. He already missed it.

“Still, be careful moron,” Yuri said. “If Georgi is trying to stop you, this could get messy.” Victor nodded. He’d be careful.

“In other news, Dad’s about to kill you,” Yuri said. “My excuses ran out so now he just thinks you ran away. And he’s pissed about it.” Victor smiled sadly. He knew that his father would probably never forgive him for this, especially if he failed. He had had to at least try though. Yuri ranted a little bit more, but then Chris and Yuri left him and Victor made his way back to his room, feeling lighter than air.  
~~~  
Yuri stood on the beach with Phichit, throwing a stick for Minami. Once Victor and he had made it back, Phichit had swamped him for details on the tour, which Phichit insisted was a date.

“It was not a date,” Yuri huffed, throwing the stick for Minami who excitedly clambered after it. “I was just showing him around.”

“Tour’s don’t usually last all day,” Phichit teased. “And you don’t show just anyone your special pond hideaway. That’s only for special people. Pretty sure you were on a date dude.”

Yuri sighed. “It’s not that I don’t like Victor, I guess I do, it’s just…”

“I know, I know, you’re still looking for this mystery person that saved your life because you’ve convinced yourself you’re in love with them,” Phichit said. “However, I’m pretty sure Victor likes you. Wouldn’t it be better to explore a romance with someone who’s already here?”

Yuri didn’t answer. He knew he what the answer was. Phichit clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll support whatever you do man, but don’t go breaking someone’s heart because you’re hung up on someone you can’t find.” Phichit let go of Yuri and started walking back to the castle, and Minami nudged Yuri’s hand wanting him to throw the stick again. He absentmindedly tossed the stick, wrapped in his own thoughts, when he heard a voice. It was a song, beautiful and solemn, and it was coming up the beach. He began to shuffle towards the song, as if in a trance. The song… it sounded familiar, but he had never heard it. It seemed to wrap him up, entangling him. 

And then it drowned him.  
~~~  
The next morning, Victor was out on the beach listening to Yuri rant and petting Maccachin on the head when Chris came crashing down next to him.

“I heard the news, congratulations Vitya!” Chris said, transforming into his human form. Victor looked quizzically at the birdman.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Yuri shouted.

“Wait, you don’t know? The whole kingdom is buzzing about it,” Chris asked. “Maybe your prince let the cat out of the bag without asking you yet.”

“Get on with it birdbrain!” Yuri griped.

“Why, the prince is getting married of course! Everyone’s talking about it,” Chris finally explained. Victor’s eyes widened. Was this really happening? Was Yuri really going to ask him to marry him? He knew they had had a wonderful time yesterday, but it seemed sudden of the shy prince. Victor jumped up from where he was sitting and ran back to the castle, Yuri’s shouts of frustration following after him. Before he found Yuri, Victor stopped and brushed his hair and changed into his outfit from the day before. He had to look nice to be proposed to, it was a moment he was going to remember forever.

He finally finished changing and rushed through the castle, looking for Yuri everywhere until he finally found him at the bottom of the main staircase, talking to Phichit.

And standing next to the prince was a girl.

She was beautiful. She had dark brown hair that cascaded down her back in voluminous waved. Her skin was porcelain and her lips were bright red. She was wearing a dark black gown and she had her arm wrapped around Yuri’s waist. Victor’s throat suddenly went dry. Who was this girl? Victor came to a stop and hid behind a pillar at the top of the staircase so he could listen.

“Well, I must say I’m a little surprised,” Phichit said. “I never doubted that your mystery savior was real, but this seems very sudden for you.”

“She’s the one Phichit,” Yuri said. Victor thought he sounded dazed, but also felt his heart cracking when he said that. “I’m marrying her.”

“Well I support you,” Phichit said. “You know I do. And it’s not that a wedding today won’t be possible, it will be because I’ve been planning your wedding since we were teenagers and I have all the specifics settled, but are you sure you aren’t rushing this?”

“I love her Phichit. I’m marrying her.”

Victor felt his heart shatter, and it took all he had to keep himself upright. Those three words. They were all he ever wanted to hear from Yuri, and Yuri was saying them to someone else. He ran away from the scene, out of the castle, and once he was down on the beach he collapsed on the sand and wept. Tears spilled out of his eyes and his body heaved as the sobs wracked his body. He hated this. He had thought that Yuri was at least giving him a chance. He wasn’t sure Yuri had loved him yet, but there had been something between them, right? He hurt so much. Had this even been worth it? Was love worth this pain?

He didn’t even register when Chris landed next to him, looking confused. He did not even notice when Yuri popped up out of the water and asked “What’s up with him?” Chris kneeled down and placed his hand on Victors shoulder. Victor flinched and looked up, his face tearstained and cheeks tinged pink. 

“Victor what happened?” Chris asked, and Victor sobbed again, falling onto Chris’s chest. He couldn’t describe the pain he felt now, even if he had had words. His chest felt tight, and the tears felt like they would never stop. 

Chris rubbed Victor on the back, talking to Yuri. “I’m going to try and figure out what happened. Stay with him okay?” Yuri nodded, and Maccachin hopped over to Victor and licked him on the hand.

Chis transformed into a seagull and flew quickly up to the castle, looking around until he finally found an open window. Inside, Yuri was talking to a mystery woman.

“I can’t wait to marry you Anya,” Yuri said, but he did not actually sound excited. He sounded like he was asleep and just sleep talking.

“Of course you can’t,” the woman, Anya said. She reached up and cradled Yuri’s face in her hands. “You’re too cute, no wonder Victor loves you so much. I just need to keep you away from that merbrat until sundown and then he becomes mine forever. Oh how King Yakov will like that,” Anya laughed slowly. “I wish I could see Victor’s face right now, he’s probably heartbroken.” She laughed louder and walked over to a mirror and Chris finally saw it. The reflection staring back wasn’t Anya.

It was Georgi the Sea Witch.

Chris squawked loudly and flew off the windowsill, flying quickly away to get back to Victor. He transformed into a human as he landed on the beach, running up to the heartbroken merman, who was still curled up into a ball crying.

“Did you find out why Victor is crying hysterically?” Yuri asked him.

“YOUR PRINCE IS MARRYING THE SEA WITCH!” Chris exclaimed loudly. Victor whipped his head up, tears still streaming from his eyes.

“What?” Yuri shouted.

“I saw the prince with a mystery girl, but then she looked in the mirror and she had Georgi’s reflection,” Chris explained. “I think Georgi has him under some kind of spell, he’s forcing him to get married.”

“Are you sure?” Yuri asked.

“Positive!” Chris said. “That’s Georgi, I know it!”

Victor scrubbed at his eyes. Yuri was under a spell. Georgi was trying to keep him from kissing Yuri. He might still have a chance with Yuri! 

“So what’s the plan?” Yuri asked. “We gonna stop the sea witch or not?”

“Well we have to if we don’t want Victor to be a creepy monster for the rest of his life,” Chris said, winking at Victor. Victor smiled. He was lucky to have people who cared about him so much, even if his little brother wouldn’t admit to caring.

“I guess I’ll figure out a way to stall the wedding,” Chris said. “Shouldn’t be too hard. I can be pretty distracting when I want to be.”

“Victor,” Yuri said, but he hesitated before continuing. “Should I tell dad what’s happening? He’d probably be helpful against Georgi.”

Victor hesitated, then nodded his head. If anyone could stop Georgi, his father could. 

“Victor you should try to get to Yuri,” Chris said. “If you can get Yuri away from Georgi, maybe you can break the curse before the wedding even gets started.” Victor nodded. He doubted Georgi would leave Yuri alone, but he had to try.

The three split up and Victor rushed back to the castle. He rushed around, trying to find Yuri, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. Did Georgi hide him? That seemed unlikely but he couldn’t figure out where the man had gone. He ran back outside the castle and he found a lot of people crowding off and on a large boat. The boat was decorated lavishly with flowers and banners all around the outside. Flags were hanging off the stern of the ship. The wedding must be being held on the boat. Victor ran over to the boats entrance, but he was stopped by a guard.

“I’m sorry sir, but the bride has asked that you not be permitted in the wedding,” the man said. Victor looked exasperatingly at the man, then sighed. Georgi really didn’t want Victor to succeed. But if he thought that this was going to stop him from getting to Yuri, he was very mistaken. Victor just needed to find another way onto the boat. He started walking away when he saw Chris gliding above the ship. He waved to the bird man until he finally started to fly towards him. Victor started to run back towards the beach, and when they were out of human view, Chris transformed and landed next to him. 

“What’s going on, why are you not on the boat?” Chris asked. Victor glared at Chris, because he knew it was going to be hard to pantomime the situation, but through some miracle he was able to stumble through explaining to Chris that Georgi had banned him from the wedding. 

“Well we have to get you on that boat somehow…” Chris mused. “You’ll have to swim out to it. There’s probably a way to climb on the boat from the outside.” That gave Victor another problem. With a tail he was a strong swimmer, but with legs he wasn’t sure he would be able to make it. He again pantomimed his concerns to Chris.

“Oh, that’s an easy fix,” Chris said, winking at Victor. He gestured for Victor to follow him and they ran down the beach to their usual meeting spot. Then Chris whistled loudly. Soon, a furry head popped out of the water and hopped onto shore. Victor pumped his fists in the air in triumph. He should have known Maccachin was around to look after him. He knelt down and pet the seal on the head.

“Maccachin should be able to help you swim there hm?” Chris said. Victor nodded excitedly. “Alright, well I have a wedding to stall, and you don’t have a lot of time. Get going!” With that, Chris transformed again and flew in the direction of the wedding ship. Victor began swimming towards the ship, which to his dismay had already started moving out towards the sea. Luckily Maccachin was there to help pull him when he felt his arms begin to tire.

As they got closer to the ship, Victor could see there was some chaos occurring on the deck of the ship. Sea birds were dive bombing the ship and Victor could hear their loud cries. Victor smiled. He knew he could count on Chris.

Finally Victor and Maccachin made it to the ship, and Victor was able to climb up a ladder on the stern of the ship to make it to the deck. The deck was in chaos. What must have been a beautiful wedding was now destroyed. Wedding guests were running everywhere trying to avoid the diving birds. Chairs were tipped over the entire deck. Bouquets of flowers lay crushed on the floor. Minami the dog was barking loudly and chasing after the bride Georgi, who looked annoyed by the whole ordeal. Yuri still stood at the bow of the ship, his trance unbroken. Victor began to try and make his way towards the prince.

Suddenly, Chris dived down and grabbed the string of Georgi’s shell necklace in his beak, tugging the string until it broke. The pendant fell to the ground with a smash, and Victor felt as if his lungs suddenly filled with a rush of air.

Yuri blinked, then rubbed his head. Where… was he? The last thing he remembered was playing fetch on the beach with Minami. Now he was standing on a boat, dressed in a nice suit, and the boat was being trashed by a bunch of sea birds.

“What’s happening?” Yuri muttered. 

“Yuri!”

Suddenly a body crashed into Yuri, holding him in a tight hug. It was damp, and smelled like sea water. He pulled away and was met by two crystal blue eyes, eyes he would recognize anywhere.

“Victor?” Yuri asked. “What… you can talk?”

Tears welled up in Victor’s eyes. He was so happy to hear Yuri say his name again. “Yes! I’m sorry, there’s so much I need to tell you.”

“How can you… wait…” Yuri said, still trying to work through his confusion. “Wait, I know that voice, you’re-“

“I told you I would see you again,” Victor said, smiling wide as tears began to fall down his face.”

“You’re the one from the shipwreck, the one who saved me!” Yuri exclaimed, gently wiping a tear off of Victor’s face. Victor laughed and nodded, leaning his face into Yuri’s hand.

“Oh Yuri,” Victor said, reaching up and kissing Yuri’s hand. “I love you so much.”

Yuri blushed, unsure of what to say. Was the fluttering of his heart in his chest love? He wasn’t sure he knew yet. Instead of saying anything he tightly hugged Victor in his arms.

Victor hugged him back, letting more tears fall onto his love’s shoulder, when all of the sudden his legs began to sting. He gasped, holding onto Yuri and looking up, to see the sun dipping underneath the waves.

“No,” he whispered, and Yuri looked at Victor confused, but Victor was trying his best to stay upright. His pants tore to shreds as his legs fused back together, a golden scaled tale replacing the legs he had always wanted. Victor collapsed onto the deck while Yuri looked on in both confusion and shock.

“You’re… you’re a merman?” Yuri asked. Victor was going to answer when a loud cackling laugh filled the air. Victor looked over, but was quickly grabbed by a large tentacle.

“Oh, too bad, looks like you were too late darling,” Georgi smirked, laughing as Victor squirmed in his grip. “But a deal is a deal, and you’re mine now.”

“You interfered, it wasn’t fair!” Victor countered.

“I never said I couldn’t interfere,” Georgi said, beginning to slide to the side of the boat. “Our deal was completely fair. Now it’s time for you to become my new houseplant.”

“No!” Yuri shouted running over as Georgi slipped over the side of the ship into the ocean. He looked desperately at the ocean for a minute before shouting “Phichit!” He would get Victor back. He needed an explanation for what was happening, and he was pretty sure Victor was the only one who could explain.  
~~~  
Georgi dragged Victor down to his cave, and they had almost made it when Georgi was met by the sharp end of a glowing trident.

“Georgi stop this! Let him go,” King Yakov said, pointing the trident against Georgi’s neck. 

“Father! Yuri!” Victor said, squirming in the tentacle when he saw his little brother come out from behind their father. Georgi covered Victor’s mouth with another tentacle. 

“Well, well, if it isn’t King Yakov,” Georgi said. “You really should keep a better eye on your children, they’ve been getting into so much trouble.”

“Georgi let him go, I’m not afraid to use force against you,” Yakov said.

“Unfortunately, your son and I have a deal,” Georgi said. “He’s mine now, which means I can do this.” Georgi snapped his fingers and Victor transformed into a shriveled plant creature, looking onwards at his family with shock. 

“Georgi you will pay for deceiving my son,” Yakov said. He waved his trident and Georgi was suddenly trapped in a bubble. Georgi waved his hands, trying to cast a spell, but his magic didn’t work. Georgi’s face suddenly filled with fear. 

“Don’t worry,” Yakov said to Georgi. “You’re just going to be locked up where you won’t be able to trick anyone anymore. Maybe I’ll borrow the spell you used on my son and take away your voice.” Georgi’s hands reached up to his throat and he swallowed hard. Yakov waved his trident again and Victor suddenly transformed back into a merman. He looked happily at his tail, but then looked sheepishly at his father.

“Hi dad,” Victor said softly, waving his hand shyly.

“Don’t even get me started on you Vitya,” Yakov said, and Victor flinched. “You disobeyed my orders about interacting with humans, made a stupid deal with this moron,” Yakov stopped, motioning to Georgi in the bubble. “And you almost got yourself killed. I’ll deal with you once I get Georgi settled in his new home.” Yakov swam away, magically dragging Georgi’s bubble behind him. Yuri began to swim after their father.

“Thank you for your help Yura,” Victor said softly. Yuri turned back to him and smiled, before continuing to follow King Yakov. Victor sighed. He knew he should follow his father, but he felt like he also had some explaining to do to a very confused human. He swam up to the surface and looked for Yuri, but he figured Yuri was still on the big ship, so he planted himself on a rock on the shore and waited to see if he could catch a glimpse of his prince. 

He didn’t know how long he sat there, when a stern voice came from behind him.

“You really love this boy don’t you Vitya?” 

Victor turned to his father, his hands falling from where they were braiding his hair. Maccachin was floating next to him. He nodded. “I do. I love him more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”

Yakov was silent for a moment before he sighed loudly. “Well then I guess I’m going to have to get used to only having one son around the castle.” Victor’s brow furrowed, but then his eyes widened in understanding. 

“Really‽” Victor shouted. In answer, Victor’s body was covered in a bright golden glow, and then his tail was legs again, and he was now wearing a sparkling silver gown that sparkled in the soft morning light. Victor reached out and hugged his father, trying not to cry. 

“Thank you,” Victor whispered.

“I’ll still send Yura to check on you,” Yakov said. “I still want to know what you’re doing.” Victor let go of his father and slid off the rock, beginning to run up the beach. He had some explaining to do. As he ran through the sand, something ran up next to him. Victor stopped and looked down, and it was-

“Maccachin?” Victor asked confused. His seal was no longer a seal, he was a dog. A big fluffy brown dog with big floppy ears. He looked back at the ocean but his father was gone. Victor smiled. One last gift he supposed. He ruffled the fur on Maccachin’s head and then continued running. 

Almost at the end of the beach, he heard more barking, and it wasn’t coming from his new dog companion. Victor’s heart jumped and he ran faster, his hair streaming behind him in the wind. He finally saw Yuri down the beach.

“YURI!” He shouted, tears streaming down his face again. Yuri had started running towards him again, and they collided and Victor held Yuri tightly.

“You have legs again,” Yuri said, his voice muffled from Victor’s chest. Victor laughed.

“I’m quite attached to them,” Victor replied. He released Yuri a bit and rested his forehead on Yuri’s.

“I like your laugh,” Yuri mumbled, a blush creeping over his cheeks.

“I like your smile,” Victor replied.

Yuri laughed. “Well I like your eyes.”

“I like your lips,” Victor said, making Yuri blush redder. “May I kiss them?”

Yuri nodded nervously and Victor tilted Yuri’s head upwards and gently placed his lips on Yuri’s. Yuri’s lips were warm and they tasted like salt. Yuri sighed softly into the kiss. And it was perfect. And Victor hoped he would get to kiss those lips for the rest of his life.  
~~~  
6 months later

The day of Victor and Yuri’s wedding had finally come. They had decided on a beachside wedding because all of Victor’s family and friends couldn’t come on land. Yuri still freaked out a little sometimes when he remembered Victor was a merman because he had wanted to see a merperson since he had been a kid. Victor had eventually introduced him to his brother, and Yuri had been extremely irritated that the human his brother loved had the same name as him. Human Yuri had thought it was the coolest thing though. 

Victor had wanted to marry Yuri the moment after their first kiss, but he had waited for Yuri to ask him. The proposal had been really romantic, Yuri took him on a picnic and then asked him underneath the willow tree at his secret pond. Victor cried- a lot- and afterwards it had been hard for Victor to do anything besides look at the golden ring around his finger.

Victor and Phichit had done most of the wedding planning, but Yuri had been there to make sure the two weren’t going too over the top. Phichit had already had a plan for Yuri, and Victor was way too excited to hear everything about it.

The wedding had actually turned out to be rather elegant and understated. It was a beautiful day, no clouds in the sky, but a bright rainbow was flowing across the sky. Victor wondered if his father had anything to do with it. The aisle at the wedding site was lined with white and blue roses and the altar had an archway over it that had more flowers spaced on it. The altar was placed so that it could easily be seen by the merfolk in the water.

Yuri and Victor had walked to the aisle from opposite directions, Yuri being walked by his mother and Victor by Yuri’s father. They had decided on matching outfits, bright white tailcoats with golden trim and buttons, white pants, and white shoes. Yuri’s hair was slicked back but he was still wearing his glasses, and Victor’s long hair was tied back with a gold ribbon. Phichit had cried when he saw them matching.

When they finally made it to the aisle, Victor hooked his arm around Yuri’s, which even after all this time the affection still made Yuri blush, and they made their way down the aisle together. Victor couldn’t take his eyes off his fiancé. He was sure he could hear his brother making gagging noises in the background.

The ceremony was short. They had written their own vows for each other and Victor had to try his best not to start sobbing during Yuri’s. 

“Do you, Yuri Katsuki, take his man to be your husband?”

Yuri slid a golden ring on Victor’s finger, where it sat next to his thinner jeweled engagement band. “I do.”

“And do you, Victor Nikiforov, take this man to be your husband?”

Victor slid a matching golden ring onto Yuri’s finger. “I do.”

Then I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss your husband.”

Victor smiled and pressed his lips to Yuri’s, a cheer erupting from the onlookers. The kiss was perfect, just as magical as the first time. And he knew they would be magical forever. 

Giving up his life in the sea had been hard. He sometimes felt extremely homesick for the ocean and his family. But every moment before this had been worth it. Because now he had Yuri. Because now he had love.

And love was worth everything in the world.


End file.
